The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1887-12-01
NAPoLEoNs OF FINANCE
Without Fame Because They Have
Made No Sensational Failures.

New YORK, Nov. 24-The ups and downs
Of the projectors of railroads, canals,
mines, inventions, and gigantic enterprises
In New York are so extraordinary as to
challenge the surprise of people who have
known the manipulators for years, and are
cognizant of the wonderful vagaries in their
fortunes. Henry S. Ives, Ferdinand Ward,
and the other big financiers are newspaper
heroes. Their names are famous because
they failed, and the history of their great
operations becomes public property, but the
number of men who force fortunes out OF
nothing, and make millions fly into the
pockets of their hackers in response to no
other incentive than their own shrewdness
and pluck, do not care for notoriety, and
dread nothing so much as newspaper promi-
nence.
know protector of big enterprises who
cautions me every time we meet against
mentioning his name. Such men like to tell
the news about their ambitions and projects,
but they dread the notoriety which the
newspapers give to their pets. The manner
IN which these shrewd adventurers-for very
often they are little more than that-force
themselves into the confidence of men of
sound financial standing and raise huge
sums of money without owning Il dollars
worth of property in the world would as
found conservative business men of the old
school. personally know of loan which
was recently negotiated by a man who is as
brilliant railroad financier as ever looked
at map, for the enormous sum of 1855, 900,
and yet the negotiator could not command
$50 to meet his board bill on the night after
the completion of his work The history of
his work indicates in a slight measure how
men of brains of this kind occasionally
work their way up.
He had been in the diamond fields of
Africa, was broke, and worked his way on.
a sailing vessel to Rio Thence he found his
way to Chill, where he became interested in
drummer who was selling patent ore
crushing machine. The drummer died.
The ex-dlamond adventurer took his books
and sold half a dozen machines through
Chill and Peru. Then he shipped to New
Orleans, where he made his collections,
drifted over to Jacksonville, in Florida,
and in some manner or other stumbled
across a half worthless charter of q rail
road, designed to transport timber to the
Gulf. He gave nothing for the charter, but
at once organized a railroad company with
name OF feet long, sailed for London,
and had prospectuses and maps made that
would have shamed the Northern Pacific in
poinJ Of extravaganza and beauty.
In London he got the ear of nobleman
of excellent lineage, battered fortunes,
feeble health, and entirely Respondent, who
lock in the English capital All he had left
was an imposing name. The American
made him cash offer of 340 for the use of
the noble name as President of the company,
and the English nobleman launched out 8
early as the shaky fist and somewhat rocky
brain would permit, pocketed his 940 and
went to the races forthwith. Then the
Yankee went to Liverpool and the minor
English cities where the character of the
nobleman was not so we'll known as in Lon
don, and in less than month had stocked
the company for 100000 banked the
money and brought the whole scheme
| to America, where he sold out to
syndicate of Wall street gentlemen of
rather loose notions as to the
brotherly love which should exist between
the English and Americans, and who pro-
ceeded to scoop their allies after the Gus
tomary Wall street fashion. But the ma
nipulator of all this hullabaloo got out of
| money, and he struck another railroad
| scheme up near the great lakes, which can
not mention without advertising, as every
body is talking about it just now. He was
so sure of his enterprise that he dumped
every penny of his capital into it and pushed
it along until it is talked of in half the finan-
cial circles of America and Europe. Even
when it got into a stress last week, he raised
1866, 900 for it, although he had not penny
of his own at the time. He dresses well,
and frequents the best hotels No man
knows where he sleeps or eats. Here is
man who two years ago didn't have a
penny, and who to-day is in precisely the
same condition; and yet, if his scheme gets
through, as in all probability it will, he
will come out at least $500, 900 to the good
with valuable holdings in railroad stocks
and the Presidency of big corporation.
Through all his financial embarrassments
he is serene and placid as he will be year
hence, whether he is worth $4,000, 900, or
| 10c. Men of his class never get ratified, no
matter how great the turbulence of their
affairs, and they watch their chances as a
| chicken hawk watches the pullet.
| know dozen of these railroad
manipuIators, and every one of them is a
good type of man of the world Their
one care is to keep up appearances. To
do this they often sacrifice such little
things as heir stomachs, and go without
food that they may be impressively
clothed. Some of them even put up for
tremendous swells, the most promising
specimen | know of being an enthusiast on
mines from Nevada. That is, he says he is
from Nevada, but when he forgets about
the cares of the millions he has on pa
per, and drinks a glass of wine
too much and has a good time
with his cronies, there is an accent
in his voice that suggests Dublin from afar.
In appearance he is a swell OF the most ire
mendous and impressive type, and he drives
mailed phaeton with a pair of 16-hand
bays, and an absolutely correct footman,
every day in the year. He is rather careful
to pass the principal hotels and restaurants
on his way to the park. He is scrupulously
shaved and barbered at all times, and
he told me 10 confidence one day
last week that he had no less than eighteen
overcoats with which to begin the winter
season. His bill at the tailor's was over
81 900 for portion of last year. The am
bition of his life is to get into the clubs, but
he never could manage it, for the inquiries
from the committee on admission invaria-
bly, disclosed such peculiar facts about the
mining operator that he is blackballed with
a vengeance when his name comes up. He
believes entirely in show and glitter, and
says so without reserve.
All he does is to float mining stock, and
the first money that comes in goes in his
own pocket. He asks a small percentage,
but he gets it, and, as his operations are
numerous, his income must reach close TO
So, 900 or $4,000 year. The only people
he pays are his liverymen and tailor, for
these are absolutely necessary to his sue
cess. He has been through supplementary
proceedings so often that he knows more
about the law than the Judges themselves
and Whenever he gets an extra thousand
dollars he blows it merrily into a
big game in the Stock Exchange,